I Want Crazy
by Eli Malfoy-Black
Summary: Arnold and Isabella are fourth graders in love: with each other! But how can they be together when they don't get uninterrupted time to confess? Classmates, grandparents, parents, even teachers are always getting in the way! Then Isabella gets a break in show business when a talent scout hears her sing in a talent show. Is this a sign they shouldn't be together after all? ON HIATUS


"Jó reggelt! Jól aludtál tegnap este?"

"Igen, köszönöm. Még mindig tervezi beismert Arnold ma, Bella?"

"Igen. De nagyon ideges vagyok. Mi van, ha nem is emlékszik, ki vagyok? Mi van, ha utál engem? Ó, én meghalni akarok, gondolkodni azon a lehetőségen ..."

Arnold felt his ears perk at the sound of his name. He glanced over at the school doors, his heart thudding slightly harder when he saw two familiar raven-haired girls walking inside, talking to each other. Phoebe Heyerdahl, the shorter of the two, had on her usual blue ensemble. Isabella Pataki, a girl who was only two inches taller than Arnold, had her hair back in the usual pigtails, but her clothes _weren't_ the usual pink dress. Instead she had on a preppy, black plaid skirt, a black blouse, and a green sweater tied around her waist. Black hightops replaced her normal white tennis shoes. Arnold couldn't help staring. When Isabella started to look in his direction, he hid behind his locker door, terrified that she'd almost caught him staring at her – for the millionth time.

"Hmm ... valami baj van a Arnold? Úgy tűnik, hogy a szokásosnál jobban viselkedik, Phoebe," came Isabella's melodic voice.

"Fogalmam sincs, Bella. Miért nem kérdezed?" Phoebe responded in an amused tone.

Arnold's body tensed as they walked past him. He refused to look, just in case Isabella looked at him at the same time…though it had never happened before. That reasoning had him peering at her out of the corner of his eye.

She wasn't looking at him, but shaking her head at whatever face Phoebe was making. _Why is it they always talk in either Hungarian or Japanese?_ He sighed wearily, letting his forehead thunk against the edge of the locker door.

"Hey, man! Why are you trying to make out with your locker?"

Arnold growled. "Not funny, Gerald."

Gerald, already knowing what the problem was, just chuckled while opening his own locker right next to Arnold. "Just ask her out already, Arnold. I don't know why you gotta get all tongue-tied. I mean," he glanced down the hallway as Isabella and Phoebe disappeared around the corner. "It _is_ just Pataki. She's such a quiet, anti-social thing."

"Don't talk about her like that," Arnold snapped, slamming his locker shut. "And you know I can't help it!" he waved his hands a bit in frustration. "I've liked her since _pre-school_! But back then we would've gotten the life teased out of us! Even _now_ , I'm a bit wary with saying anything to her because of our classmates!"

Gerald cocked his head, giving his best friend and exasperated look. "Arnold, you're overthinking this whole thing."

Arnold shook his head, trudging down the hallway. He searched for Isabella in the crowd, but when he couldn't see her, he figured she was already in the classroom.

"It stinks being a fourth grader in love," he mumbled to himself.

Gerald, having heard that, just shook his head. "Mmmm-mmmm-mmmm."

XXXXX

"I'm so terrified…" Isabella whispered, switching from Hungarian to English as soon as they were in their seats. "What if I botch the whole thing? What if I burp? Or—"

"Breathe, Bella!" Phoebe patted her best friends back, fighting back a smile.

Bella looked at her friend, her face pale. "I…don't think I can do this."

"If you don't, you're gonna regret it the rest of your life," Phoebe said honestly, frowning. "You can do it. Where's that Pataki courage?"

"Back at home, hiding under my bed…" Bella muttered. She smiled sheepishly at Phoebe.

"Stop freaking out. Just be yourself."

"But what if he turns me down?"

"Why would he turn down one of the prettiest, sweetest girls in school?"

"I'm not pretty, I'm mousy. And I'm not sweet, I'm just shy and have trouble talking to people except for you."

"You are not mousy! And you do plenty of talking during Tae Kwon Do."

"That's different! I'm just trying to psych my opponent out!"

"Just pretend he's an opponent you _don't_ want to psych out."

"…that sounds weird, Pheebs," Bella snorted.

Phoebe smirked. "Hey, it got you to laugh, didn't it?"

Arnold came inside, looking a bit sullen, while Gerald walk inside behind him, fighting a grin. He nodded at Phoebe. "Hey, girl. How you doing?"

"I'm fine, Gerald. And you?" Phoebe said warmly, a small blush coloring her cheeks.

 _Oh, brother_ … Bella mentally rolled her eyes. _Just ask her out already you moron! You've been salivating over my best friend since_ _ **pre-school**_ _! Stupid tall hair boy…_

"I'm good. We're all gonna play baseball this afternoon. Would you ladies be interested in coming along?"

Bella's head jerked up, and she stared at Gerald in disbelief.

Phoebe smiled. "Why of course we would, Gerald! Right, Bella?" she poked Bella's shoulder when the girl didn't answer.

"Oh!" she snapped out of her dazed shock that _anyone_ would invite **her** _anywhere_. "U-um…yes, I-I'd l-l-like that…v-v-very much…th-thanks…" she stammered, her face getting hot from embarrassment.

Arnold looked at her in concern. "You okay, Isabella?"

"Y-you can c-call me B-Bella, Arnold. A-and I'm f-f-fine," she chuckled self-consciously, turning her attention to taking her math textbook out of her desk and paging through it. His green eyes were so hypnotizing, she could've stared at him forever.

"Okay," he didn't sound convinced, but didn't push her. "If you say so, Isa—I mean, Bella."

She smiled, still not looking at him.

He sighed softly, then sat down in his seat in front of her. _Why is she so shy around me? Did I do something wrong?_

Bella's gaze slowly climbed up to Arnold's head. Her eyes turned dreamy, a small, lovesick smile spread across her face. She rested her chin on her fist, watching Arnold as he pulled out his own math book, flipping to the current day's lesson.

 _Oh, Arnold…if only I could manage to converse with you like a normal person…if only I could tell you what is on my mind without stuttering like a foolish little girl. Why must my shyness always hold me back? Why do I let my fears control me? Oh, my dear Arnold, if you could only free me from these cursed fears…_ She sighed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts of anything frilly. "Yeah, right…" she muttered to herself, forcing her eyes to scan the math problems in the textbook. "As if Arnold would have anything to do with _me_ …"

The thought made her want to curl up in a ball and die.

Arnold slightly turned his head, ears faintly hearing what she said. He raised the book to hide his wide eyes. Did that…did that mean what he hoped it meant? _Does she like me back?_ It was too good to be true, but he couldn't help hoping what he heard wasn't just in his head. Or that he was misunderstanding.

But…he couldn't just pass this chance up. Gerald had been hounding him since he found out Arnold's crush on the raven-haired beauty back in second grade. And he was right. Arnold should take the risk, and finally confess.

He carefully, as quietly as possible, ripped a blank sheet of paper out of his notebook, scribbled a small note on it, then folded it up. He closed his eyes, pulling in a deep breath. _Please, please, please, let her say yes._ Then he reached his hand back, dropping the note on Bella's desk. He jerked his hand back to his own desk as if he'd been burned. A small, pleased smile played over his mouth.

Bella stared in surprise at the folded paper on her desk. Was it for her? She looked at it, her heart skipping a beat when she saw her name scrawled cutely on the front: _Isabella Pataki_. She smiled, and opened the note.

 _Bella,_

 _I wanna tell you something important. Could you walk with me to the boarding house? We can talk privately in my room._

 _Arnold_

Bella's eyes widened. _What could he possibly have to tell me?_ Her gaze landed on the back of Arnold's head for a few seconds, then she went back to studying the note. Refusing to think about it too much – Phoebe had accused of her over-thinking things more than once – she took a blank sheet of paper from her desk, scrawled her reply, folded the paper, then tossed it over Arnold's shoulder on his desk.

Her eyes closed, face falling on her math book. _What did I just do?_

Arnold stared at the note with his name on it: _Arnold Shortman_. She was the only girl who remembered his last name. With slightly shaky hands, he unfolded the note.

 _Arnold,_

 _Yes, I'll walk with you. I hope nothing's seriously wrong. Afterwards, I can treat us to some ice cream at Slausen's, if that's okay with you._

 _Bella_

Arnold silently cheered. _She said yes!_ Instead of passing another note, he waited until Mr. Simmons was facing the blackboard to write a math problem, and turned in his chair to nod and smile at Bella. She smiled shyly back, her gaze dropping to her book.

 _My football-headed prince…_ she thought dreamily. _We're going to have ice cream together…Oh, I hope I don't screw this up. Maybe I can show him the other side of me…the strong girl._ She glanced at Arnold again. _Ah, who am I kidding? I've been a meek little mouse for too many years. There's no way I can change before school lets out this afternoon._

XXX

Bella was already waiting by Arnold's locker after school, eyes searching the crowd of kids for him. Her face burned as Rhonda and her minions strolled by, whispering and laughing. They left no doubt as to who they were talking about. They kept glancing back at her, then whispering.

 _They're probably thinking I'm stalking Arnold, or something,_ she thought miserably, not noticing Arnold coming down the hallway. _If I'm going to bring negative attention to him, I might as well not go today…_

She turned to run off, but was shocked when a hand grasped her wrist, pulling her back. "Hey! Where you going, Bella?"

She turned, staring at Arnold's smile, then down at his hand still holding her wrist. "Um…nowhere."

"Okay," Arnold said. _She didn't stutter! Maybe she won't stutter around me today…_ "Just lemme put my books away, then we can go."

"Okay," Bella said softly. She dug her fingernails into her palms, struggling to calm herself down. _I will not stutter…I will not stutter…I will_ _ **not**_ _stutter…_

"Ready?"

Bella jerked her head up, blinking a couple times. She managed a small, timid smile. "Yes." _I'd better keep my answers small so I don't have the chance to stutter and look like a moron….Criminy! I'm embarrassed just remembering all the times I've stuttered in front of him in the past!_

"Something wrong?" Arnold's concerned voice broke through her self-loathing thoughts.

She quickly shook her head. "Er…no. I'm fine."

"…you wanna go to Slausen's first?"

Bella thought for a moment. "What's your favorite ice cream flavor?" She gave herself a mental pat on the back. No stutters!

"I really like anything strawberry. How about you?" He smiled. "Do you like strawberry?"

"I can't say," she said uneasily. _Great…now he's gonna think I'm a freak…_

He frowned slightly. "Why not?"

"The only time I ever ate strawberries, I had to be rushed to the hospital," she answered meekly, her gaze glued to the sidewalk. "I'm allergic."

Arnold stared at her. "So…they can kill you?"

"I'm not sure…all I remember is it was hard to breathe, and my skin really itched." She made a face. "I think I had hives."

"Then I'm not eating strawberry," Arnold said firmly, jaw set.

Bella looked at him in surprise and confusion. "But if you like strawberry ice cream so much, then—"

"No." He said firmly. "If you can't eat it, then I won't eat it in front of you."

He felt his knees go weak at the teary smile she gave him. "Oh, Arnold…you're so sweet. But really, you don't have to give up strawberry ice cream around me. I'm really fine with it." She wrinkled her nose playfully. "I hate the color red, anyway."

"So, no cherries, either?" he asked curiously.

"Nope."

Red apples?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Wow…you really do hate red, don't you?"

Bella shrugged. "It makes me think of blood."

"Oh…" Arnold grimaced. He noticed they were at Slausen's and opened the door, stepping back so Bella could go in first. "Ladies first."

She blushed slightly, hurrying inside. She felt her heart sink when she saw Rhonda and her groupies sitting at one of the booths.

Arnold noticed who she was looking at, and made a small face. _Figures they'd be here… great._ He glanced around, a smile appearing on his face when he saw a booth in the back corner. It looked private, and there was no way Rhonda would be able to see them.

"There's a booth over there," he pointed at it. "Would you like me to order for us while you go sit?"

Bella looked unsure. "But I offered to pay…"

"That's okay. You can pay next time."

Her face brightened up immediately. "That sounds fair. Okay." She turned and hurried to the booth, settling in the seat facing away from the rest of the booths.

Arnold realized he had no idea what she wanted. He perused the options, frowning at each one that had strawberries. _Ergg_ … His eyes landed on the 'Couples Delight Sundae'. His face warmed, but he figured it would be a good way to ease into his feelings for Bella. With a small gulp, he placed the order.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump.

"Why hello there, Arnold," Rhonda purred in his ear. "I noticed you came in with a certain raven-haired mouse."

He tried to ease away, but she had his sleeve grasped tight. "Look, Rhonda, I—"

"Not so fast, lover boy," she teased, her gaze flickering between Arnold and the booth Bella was sitting at.

"Please let _go_ of me," he said, his voice showing his aggravation _. I_ _ **knew**_ _something like this would happen._ He finally managed to yank his shoulder away, then grabbed the sundae, paid for it, and ran to the corner booth before Rhonda could do or say anything else.

"What happened?" Bella stared at him in concern, wondering why he was breathing hard. "Why'd you run? Is something wrong?"

"N-nothing's wrong," he shook his head, smiling reassuringly at her.

She lowered her gaze, smiling shyly.

Rhonda was slowly walking their way, but Arnold stopped her with a glare. _Don't you dare ruin this! I've been waiting far too long._

"So, Arnold," Bella's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"U-Um…" He panicked for a minute. He sucked in a deep breath. "Y'know what? Let's eat our ice cream then go to my house to talk. Rhonda and her groupies are here."

Bella's eyes widened in panic. "W-what?" _They're still here?_

"Don't worry," he chuckled. "I think I scared her off."

"Oh?" A small smile played around the corners of her mouth. "That's interesting. I always thought of you as a gentle soul that wouldn't hurt a fly…but…"

He felt his heart sink. _I shouldn't have said anything…_

"This bad boy streak is kinda intriguing, too."

He visibly perked at that. "I'm glad you're not disgusted with me."

"Oh, silly," she giggled lightly. "I could never be disgusted with you. No matter what you did."

Arnold's face flushed, a goofy smile spreading across his face. Bella's heart beat faster at the sight. _Oh…if only I could be certain that his reaction meant …_ _ **that**_ _._

Then she noticed the sundae. THE sundae. She recognized it as the 'Couples Delight'. Her eyes widened, face flushing. _Well…_ _ **that's**_ _a positive sign…_ Choosing not to comment on it, she picked up one of the two spoons he'd grabbed, and dug in.

"I made sure there were no strawberries," Arnold said to break the awkward silence. He'd noticed Bella's surprised reaction at the sundae. Relief flooded him when she'd started eating instead of refusing to touch it. _Is that a good sign? Please let it be a good sign…_

She swallowed a bite, then smiled at him. "It's very good. I love hot fudge."

"Me too."

"What kind of ice cream do you usually get when the Jolly Olly Man comes around?"

"Anything on a stick."

Bella looked at him, lips pursed in thought. "Even if it was, say, worm flavor?"

"Worm?"

"On a stick."

Arnold burst out laughing. Bella grinned in triumph. She'd managed to make a joke, and not stutter once! That was her second mental pat on the back that day. _Thank you Jeff Dunham._

"Hey, can you say 'worm on a stick' in Hungarian?" He grinned cheekily. "I'm really curious as to how it sounds in another language."

Bella giggled softly. "Okay. Féreg egy bottal."

His eyes were full of envy. "No fair. I wanna know more than English, too."

"You should start with a Romance language, then," Bella told him, taking another bite of the sundae. The sweet ice cream and rich chocolate seemed to help calm her nerves. _Relax, moron. It's only Arnold. Yeah…only the guy you've been crushing on since pre-school…no reason to get excited. NOT._ "I recommend Spanish, or Italian."

"Not French?"

"I'm… _trying_ to learn French."

Arnold swallowed back a snicker at her grimace. "No luck?"

"Those Frenchies have the weirdest language in the world, I'm tellin ya."

 _Frenchies? I didn't know she called French people Frenchie…just goes to show I don't know everything about her._ He smirked. "I agree. And their accent is really creepy."

Bella just shuddered in mock horror, and took another bite of ice cream.

"Why, hello, Bella!"

Bella's eyes widened, startled, and she choked on her ice cream. Arnold shot out of his seat and went over to her, rubbing her back soothingly.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly.

"F-f-fine…" she said weakly, her gaze now locked onto a smug Rhonda Wellington Loyd.

"You two are dating, aren't you?"

Arnold glanced at Bella. Her face had gone beet-red, with a deer-in-headlights expression.

"Um…we _were_ hanging out until you interrupted us and caused her to almost choke to death," Arnold sighed, patting Bella's back. He straightened up, shooting Rhonda a 'go away' glower.

She ignored him. "Pretty cozy for only "hanging out", Arnold." Rhonda leaned closer to Bella. "Why don't you tell me what's _really_ going on?"

Bella's face drained of color, her eyes filling with tears. "W-why do y-you alw-ways have to pick on m-m-me, Rhonda?" Her voice wobbled.

Rhonda just smirked and tossed her hair. "Consider it payback for second grade."

"B-but that w-w-wasn't my fault!" Bella stuttered, inching towards Arnold. _Please, my angel! GET ME OUT OF HERE!_

Arnold frowned at Rhonda. "Leave her alone, Rhonda. She never did anything to you, and you have no right to be such a bully. Go away."

Rhonda raised one perfect eyebrow. "Wow, Arnold. I never knew you felt so strongly about Pataki. The little mouse and the goody-two-shoes," she gave a mean laugh. "You two are perfect for each other!"

Bella couldn't take it anymore. _I'm sorry Arnold, but if Rhonda's going to target you, too, then I'm not going to try to be with you._ With a small, quiet sob, Bella slid from the booth and bolted from the ice cream shop.

Arnold stood there, frozen in shock. _What just happened?_

"Little mouse needs to grow a thicker skin," Rhonda sniffed, examining her fingernails.

Arnold just growled at her, then took off after Bella. He could see her a few yards ahead of him on the sidewalk, her pigtails bouncing on her back as she ran. "Bella, wait!"

She ducked down an alleyway, and stopped running. She leaned against a building, her chest heaving, and waited for Arnold to catch up. _I need to tell him this won't work…I refuse to let him go down with me._

"Bella," Arnold wheezed, bending over with his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath. "You…sure are…fast…"

"This isn't going to work out, Arnold."

Arnold tensed at her sad tone. His heart clenched at her words. "W-what?" He stood up, staring at her in disbelief. _Please, no…_

"If Rhonda's going to torture you just because you're hanging out with me, then…" Bella turned away, scuffing her shoe on the pavement. "I…I don't think we should be friends."

Arnold bit his lower lip, trying to concentrate. _Okay…she's terrified of Rhonda. What can I do to make this better?_

"Bella…I don't care what she says or does. It's not like she's the queen, and we have to bow down to her decrees. She's just a spoiled fourth grade brat that gossips too much and likes to make herself feel better by bringing others down."

Bella huffed a laugh at that.

"Besides…" Arnold swallowed hard as he moved towards Bella, gently grasping her soft hand with one of his. He felt her jerk, but she didn't pull away. "I… _like_ you, Bella. I want to get to know you better." _I can't tell her…not after Rhonda ruined the fun we were having…stupid rich girl!_ "Please, can we hang out together again?"

Bella chewed at her lower lip in thought. _Rhonda ruined the perfect chance I had to confess…she'll probably keep ruining every moment we have together after this…but…_ Bella glanced at Arnold out of the corner of her eye. _I'd rather have ruined moments than none at all._ "Okay. But tomorrow you're coming to _my_ house."

Arnold's face lit up with a huge smile. "Great! Thanks, Bella." He cocked his head. "That mean you still wanna come over?"

"Well…" she shrugged. "You wanted to tell me something, so…"

"I just did. I wanted to say I like you and want to hang out with you." Arnold ignored the small pain in his chest from the half-truth.

Bella blinked, processing his words. Then her cheeks pinkened. "O-oh…well…" she ducked her head, drawing a circle in the dirt with the toe of her high top. "Th-thank you. I, um…I like you too, Arnold."

He smiled, then led her out of the alleyway, and they walked down the sidewalk to the boarding house.


End file.
